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Hanzal goal lifts Coyotes over Leafs

Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) dives to block a shot by New York Islanders right wing Michael Grabner (40) as Bruins defensemen Zdeno Chara (33) and Dougie Hamilton (27) help Rask. The Bruins won 5-2 on Long Island.(Photo: AP)

Phil Kessel scored Toronto's goal that came in the first period. The Leafs led 1-0 until Arizona's Oliver Ekman-Larsson netted a short-handed soft shot past Jonathan Bernier just five seconds into the third period.

It seemed like just a harmless flip from almost his own blue-line off the opening faceoff but got past Bernier to tie it 1-1.

Just under four minutes later, Hanzal banked the puck off Bernier's back from the goal-line to make it 2-1, and Sam Gagner added a power play goal with 3/12 minutes left to put the game away. Keith Yandle and Martin Erat collected assists on that goal and Gagner and Lauri Korpikoski had one assist each.

Bernier stopped 42 of the 45 shots he faced, but two goals in less than four minutes were too much to overcome for Toronto, which fell to 0-7-1 in its past eight games.

Smith gave up a soft goal of his own to Kessel. He took a pass from James van Riemsdyk on the rush and beat Smith five-hole at 16:33 for his 20th of the season.

Gagner's goal came on a deflection when a point shot from Yandle went off him and might have hit Hanzal in front before going in. But Gagner was awarded the goal.

Arizona's 45 shots were its most this year, and this month, Bernier has a .887 save percentage.

That hasn't helped the Leafs during their transition to interim coach Peter Horachek's more defensive style. They've scored a total of seven goals during the eight-game skid.

The Leafs also have been hit by injuries.

Winger Joffrey Lupul returned from an 11-game absence to face the Coyotes, but captain Dion Phaneuf and fellow defenceman Stephane Robidas remained out.

Canadiens 1, Rangers 0: Max Pacioretty broke up a scoreless deadlock with 4:17 left to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 1-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night.

Pacioretty sent a wrist shot from above the right circle that appeared to surprise Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist and squeeze inside the right post for his 22nd goal.

That was enough to give Carey Price his 26th win and third shutout of the season in a stellar 24-save effort for Montreal, which has won four in a row — three with Price in net.

Lundqvist made 25 saves for the Rangers, who have lost two straight following the All-Star break and managed only one goal. They were beaten 4-1 by the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

Bruins 5, Islanders 2: Kevan Miller scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period, Tuukka Rask stopped 43 shots, and the Boston Bruins beat the New York Islanders 5-2 Thursday night.

Reilly Smith, Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara also scored for Boston, which won for the seventh time in 10 games. Smith and Milan Lucic also had two assists each.

John Tavares and Michael Grabner scored for New York, while Jaroslav Halak stopped 28 shots. It was the Metropolitan Division-leading Islanders' fifth loss in 22 games (17-5-0) at home this season.

Miller put the Bruins ahead for good with 3.4 seconds left in the second. He intercepted Halak's clearing attempt at the right wing boards just inside the blue line, and fired a quick shot that found the back of the net to give Boston a 3-2 lead.

Panthers 3, Blue Jackets 2: Sean Bergenheim scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period to help the Florida Panthers get a much-needed win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-2 on Thursday night.

Aaron Ekblad and Jonathan Huberdeau also scored for the Panthers, and Roberto Luongo made 30 saves.

Florida snapped a five-game loss streak, won at home for the first time in seven games, and beat Columbus for the first time since a 5-2 road victory on Nov. 21, 2007 — a span of 11 games.

Steven Stamkos and Mark Barberio also scored for the Lightning, who leapfrogged the Red Wings into first place in the Atlantic Division by a point. Jonathan Drouin and Alex Killorn had two assists apiece.

Tampa Bay took a 4-1 lead at 11:03 of the second when Paquette completed his first hat trick from the right circle during a short-handed 2-on-1. The center has four goals in the past two games after going 29 straight without one.

5 top minor teams to California: The NHL's feeder league will undergo a sizable westward shift, designed to bring five farm teams closer to their parent clubs.

The American Hockey League announced Thursday the creation of a Pacific Division for next season, the product of nearly three years of discussions with the NHL. Anaheim (San Diego), Calgary (Stockton), Edmonton (Bakersfield), Los Angeles (Ontario) and San Jose (San Jose) will each move their primary minor league affiliate to the California cities this summer.

Ducks prospects have been assigned to the Norfolk Admirals in Virginia. The Adirondack Flames have been playing in Glens Falls, New York. The Oilers have been tied to the Oklahoma City Barons. The Kings have been with the Manchester Monarchs in New Hampshire. The Worcester Sharks have been playing in Massachusetts.

Canucks acquire Clendening from Blackhawks: The Vancouver Canucks have acquired minor league defenseman Adam Clendening in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Clendening, 22, was selected by Chicago in the second round of the 2011 draft and made his NHL debut in November. He had a goal and an assist in four games before he was sent down to Rockford of the American Hockey League.

The Canucks sent 18-year-old defenseman Gustav Forsling to the Blackhawks to complete the deal. Forsling has three goals and two assists in 35 regular-season games with Linkoping of the Swedish Hockey League.

Forsling was a fifth-round pick in last year's draft. Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman says Forsling is "an offensive defenseman that plays very well on the power play and has a big shot."